Shady Grove- Diagnosed PCOS and awaiting IUI

[Anonymous]

Hi all,
I am 32 and was diagnosed with PCOS and a small dermoid ovarian cyst, by vaginal ultrasound, 7 months ago, at my ob-gyn's office. After stopping my bc pills which I had taken for 8 years and not getting my period for 3 months, along with my history of irregular periods, I was put on unmonitored clomid cycles. After ovulating on the second clomid cycle on day 30 and realizing my ob-gyn did not have the time or knowledge to properly monitor me, I turned to Shady Grove and have completed, along with my husband, their extensive fertility workup this past month. They also found my husband to have slightly lower sperm morphology (10%).....otherwise everything checked out fine. The waiting is killing me........I have to wait a month until my insurance will approve the IUI..... I know I should be happy that my insurance covers it, that I am getting excellent care, that it has only been 7 months, that my fertility issues could be much worse, etc..... but my lack of patience with the waiting process is probably my worst trait. i.e. waiting for my period, waiting for appointments, waiting to ovulate, waiting to start new treatments, waiting to see if I get pregnant............. (and from what I can tell from these posts, it doesn't stop once you do get pregnant as you wait to find out if everything is okay). I cycle through stages of being zen about everything and at peace and then, like last night, finding out about a friend getting pregnant on the first try, and reverting back to self-destructive thoughts of "it's never going to happen" or counting down days until my my next procedure.... My husband on the other hand is very level-headed about everything and feels sure that it happen for us, and is thus, not sweating any of it.

Sorry to sound so whiny! Any supportive ideas or help?
J

[Anonymous]

Sorry to hear that it's such a nervous time for you- I can relate in several different ways (unsuccessful IUIs, successful adoption- but goodness that waiting was way worse for me than IUI-, and currently a surprise pregnancy). I wish I had something helpful to tell you but just wanted to offer my support during this difficult time. This probably doesn't help you at all, but I know that I look at things kind of stoically...it is what it is. You do what you can that's in your control and that which is not...well, you have to let that go. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

It is hard, especially when you are just getting started with fertility treatments. Different things seem to work for different people, so try to figure out what helps you - support groups, acupuncture, yoga, talking to friends/family, posting on this board, etc. I agree with the PP that you have to try to let go of the things you can't control (much easier said that done) and just do your best to keep your stress level down (again, much easier said than done). Infertility really sucks! I have been TTC for over a year and a half and have been through two failed IUIs and one failed IVF and am now doing my second IVF. In a way it is always easier when you are cycling vs. when you are just in the waiting periods (waiting for your period, two-week wait, etc.). Those are always by far the hardest times for me and I just try to keep myself busy as much as possible. Best of luck to you.

[Anonymous]

Your husband's morphology is not low. 10% is excellent for SG's lab. Yes, Kruger morphology looks for 14% or higher for a "normal" result, but in reality, it is uncommon to see a result of 14% or higher, especially at SG. I am at SG and my Dh's result was 9% and the RE said that was very good based on the results coming out of their lab, which, in the RE's words, is "extremely picky when it comes to morphology." Our issue is just "old eggs" and trying to find a good one - we already have kids and did not have any trouble conceiving, so I know Dh's swimmers are fine.

No advice about the waiting - I am terribly impatient myself!

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice and support....I appreciate it!!

[Anonymous]

For PCOS you should also be on metaformin (if you can tolerate it) I did that with no clomid and got pregnant two times

[Anonymous]

I'm the 10/27 14:49 poster, and just wanted to add that I also have PCOS and my husband's morphology was 1%. IUIs didn't work for us (well, one did, but ended in a chemical pregnancy), but I got pregnant totally by accident. Was on metformin but nothing else, and we certainly weren't trying. You never know what will happen...

[Anonymous]

PCOS is manageable without an RE... try not being a fat carb addict and you may be able to turn things around.

[Anonymous]

Ahh...the fates must have been smiling on me.... I got a call from my nurse today, who had been out on sick leave, and it turns out they gave me misinformation...I don't need to wait
a month for the approval....my insurance doesn't require any authorization to do the IUIs and I can get started tomorrow. What a gift!!!! Thank you for the input on metformin.....I've read that a lot of women have had success on it...and may find myself going down that road if the IUIs don't pan out.

As for the tactful poster that suggested I could treat my PCOS if I just stopped being "a fat carb addict".....I weigh less than 120 pounds, work out 5 days a week, and am probably in better shape than you.

[Anonymous]

doubt it

[Anonymous]

hahaha...you like trolling discussion forums to pick on women with fertility issues. Wow...you're so superior....!!! I bet you can't wait to post another response emphasizing how cool you are.

[Anonymous]

OP, good luck with whichever path you take! I have PCOS and I strongly recommend that you look into Metformin regardless of what you do. Beyond conception, metformin may be very important for preventing miscarriage during the first trimester. It used to be that doctors would have you go off of metformin once pregnant, but all of the latest studies and anecdotal evidence support staying on metformin during the first trimester. My RE and regular endocrinologist kept me on metformin like this. (Delivered a healthy baby).

[Anonymous]

I was also diagnosed with PCOS at 32 after years of birth control, so a very similar situation to yours. No ovulation on my own.

I started metformin in Jan and was pregnant in March (miscarried) and April (chem pregnancy) and then June it stuck and I delivered my little guy in March. I totally agree with the poster that suggestes metformin regardless. I personally liked going the route of treating the PCOS, rather than starting with fertility drugs/treatments right off the bat. But good luck to you no matter that you decide.

and by the way, I'm also a thin PCOS person with no other symptoms besides not ovulating and ovarian cysts...screw the ignorant posters out there.

[Anonymous]

Thanks again guys for all your helpful input. I will do some more research on metformin...I have read some stuff about it, and a lot of the women on the TTC boards, swear by it. Not sure if Shady Grove uses this treatment protocol as I thought I saw something on their website about them being anti-metformin.

[Anonymous]

OP, if SG is recommending pursuing IUI or anything else before trying Metformin, please get a second opinion. IMHO, that is a reason to avoid SG. Metformin has been used for over a decade with absolutely wonderful results for PCOS, including fertility issues. This is the standard protocol now and being "anti-metformin" and recommending more risky intervention is concerning.